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3 Stocks Dragging on the Dow

An investor who understands the cause of a stock's move is more likely to profit from the effects.

On a relatively quiet market day, all of the major indexes are slightly lower. As of 12:50 p.m. EST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average(DJINDICES:^DJI) is down 41 points, or 0.29%, to 13,952. The S&P 500 has lost 0.2%, while the NASDAQ has given up 0.25%.

So who's down and why?Shares of Boeing(NYSE:BA) are down more than 0.4% after the company performed a test flight on the 787 Dreamliner over the weekend. The plane was grounded more than three weeks ago by the FAA because of issues with the plane's lithium-ion battery system. The flight over the weekend was supposed to help investigators get a better understanding of the battery system in different conditions, but company officials called the test flight "uneventful." While a boring flight is normally a good thing, in this case I believe engineers and investors would have preferred a more "exciting" flight that would have produced more information on the faulty battery systems.

Home Depot(NYSE:HD) is down 1.1% today. Typically after a natural disaster or storm, the home improvement store is moving higher, but not so today. One reason the stock is falling is the company's announcement that it will swap out its corporate employees' and managers' phones for the Apple iPhone. The cost of replacing 10,000 phones will likely have some investors arguing that it's a waste of shareholder capital. But the real loser here is Blackberry(NYSE:BB). Home Depot's new iPhones will be replacing Blackberries, and the fact that this decision came just days after the Blackberry 10 was released is causing shares of the phone manufacturer to fall by 3.6% today.

Soft-drink giant Coca-Cola(NYSE:KO) is down 0.9% today. The company is scheduled to release earnings tomorrow, and analysts are expecting revenue of $11.54 billion, with earnings per share hitting $0.44. Some investors could be concerned that the company will miss and are selling before the price tumbles further. But shares could also be feeling the downward pressure of PepsiCo's newest drink, released today. The beverage, called Kickstart, is a Mountain Dew-flavored breakfast drink with 5% juice and Vitamins B and C, as well as an extra amount of caffeine. The drink is not being marketed as an energy drink, but some believe it will appeal to the same customer.

More Foolish insightAre you at ease...or nervous? It's been a great five-year run for investors, with the Dow and S&P at or near all-time highs. Yet fears abound. When will the next downturn hit? Will political gridlock lead to portfolio-killing inflation? To learn how to protect your portfolio, click here for free guidance from the Motley Fool Pro Academy!